The race to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen has shifted to toss-up status, with Republican John E. Sununu arguing that eight-year Democratic incumbent Rep. Chris Pappas has failed to deliver results for New Hampshire.
Sununu, who is seeking a return to Capitol Hill after 18 years away, is campaigning against Pappas, a four-term congressman, in a contest that is one of roughly a dozen races nationwide expected to decide control of the Senate.
“He has attempted very little in Congress. He’s accomplished even less,” Sununu said in an interview with Fox News Digital this week, criticizing Pappas directly.
The comments come as the Cook Political Report moved the New Hampshire race from lean Democrat to toss-up, following a similar shift earlier this month by Inside Elections. Both are considered top nonpartisan handicappers of congressional races. The change is notable given the broader political headwinds facing Republicans this cycle, including persistent inflation, rising fuel prices tied to the ongoing war with Iran, and President Donald Trump’s underwater approval ratings.
A Familiar Name, A New Strategy
Sununu carries a well-known name in New Hampshire politics. His father, also named John E. Sununu, served six years as governor before becoming White House chief of staff under President George H.W. Bush. His younger brother, Chris Sununu, served eight years as governor before stepping away from politics.
Beyond the family name, Sununu’s central strategy is to cast Pappas as an ineffective incumbent — turning a familiar Democratic critique of long-serving officeholders back on a Democrat.
“He’s been on the Transportation Committee for eight years, and New Hampshire is dead last in highway funding in New England. That hurts New Hampshire. His ineffectiveness is doing damage to the state because we’re not getting the support we need from Washington,” Sununu said.
Federal and state figures show New Hampshire does receive some of the lowest total and per-capita levels of federal funding for roads, highways and bridges in the country, though it does not rank last in every category.
Pappas Defends His Record
Pappas introduced the Highway Fair Share Act earlier this year, which would require every state to receive at least 0.5% of total federal-aid highway formula funding. In June, Pappas and the rest of New Hampshire’s all-Democratic congressional delegation touted $9 million in federal funding for state projects.
Pappas campaign manager Rachel Petri pointed to a broader list of accomplishments. “Chris Pappas has led efforts to expand healthcare benefits for 3.5 million veterans, bring high-speed internet to towns across New Hampshire, put more money back in the pockets of working parents, and secure millions of dollars to improve and repair roads, bridges, and buildings,” Petri said.
“Chris is rated among the most effective and bipartisan lawmakers and his record stands in stark contrast to John Sununu’s record of voting to cut Medicare, leading efforts to privatize Social Security, and backing Donald Trump’s tariffs and war with Iran.”
Pappas himself told Fox News Digital that New Hampshire voters are “pragmatic” and want problems solved, pointing to work on expanding health care access, building affordable housing, and standing up to the current administration.
An Ironic Argument
Sununu’s anti-incumbent message carries some irony, given his own history in Washington: six years in the House and one term in the Senate before losing a rematch to then-former Gov. Shaheen in 2008.
Sununu defended his prior record, saying he has a history “of writing and passing legislation under Democrat presidents, Republican presidents, a Democrat Congress, Republican Congress.” He also emphasized the 16 years he has spent outside government since, working with tech firms, small businesses, the Waterville Valley ski area — in which the Sununu family has held a controlling interest since 2010 — and teaching at the college level. He described that experience as “a perspective that I think is missing from Washington.”
Pappas was not the only target of do-nothing-incumbent criticism this cycle. His long-shot primary challenger, first-time candidate and scientist Karishma Manzur, told Fox News Digital that Pappas mainly wants “his little cushy job” in Washington and to “do whatever the bare minimum is.” Pappas defeated Manzur by a two-to-one margin in the primary, while Sununu beat former Sen. Scott Brown in a landslide to win the GOP nomination.
Money and Trump Loom Over the Race
Outside Republican-aligned groups are now spending heavily in New Hampshire to target Pappas, who has used the new toss-up rating to raise alarms. “MAGA super PACs are pouring millions of dollars a week into New Hampshire to try to flip this seat. And this race is officially a Toss Up,” Pappas wrote on social media. He also told Fox News Digital that Sununu is “backed up by out-of-state special interests and dark money in this campaign,” claiming Republicans are outspending Democrats 3 to 1 on television.
A Democrat-aligned super PAC has begun airing ads criticizing Sununu for working with lobbying firms after leaving the Senate.
Trump endorsed Sununu earlier this year, and Democrats have since sought to tie the president — whose approval ratings are deeply negative in New Hampshire — to the Republican nominee. Pappas has called Sununu Trump’s “hand-picked candidate.”
Asked about that framing, Sununu responded, “I’ve never even met the president,” while arguing that he would nonetheless “be a much more effective voice with this administration” than Pappas.
